Barber&#39;s comb for use with clippers

ABSTRACT

A comb that combines the basic features of a typical hair comb and those of a clipper comb guard which facilitates cut length by using a hook design to be used in conjunction with a hand held hair clipper.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 61/320,736, filed on Apr. 3, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the hair cutting industry techniques and tools are key ingredients in giving Master Barbers and novice hair cutters alike the edge and confidence to perform at a high level in an ever increasing competitive market.

Such techniques include the “clipper over comb” technique that barbers have used for generations. It's a technique that allows a barber to cut hair across the teeth of a comb for a desired length and is used for blending, fading, or trimming lengths of hair without the use of traditional clipper guards. The utility of the comb in this instance becomes essential in the execution of the technique. Another example found in nearly every barber's tool kit is the clipper guard. Clipper guards are used as attachments to clippers and also provide the ability to cut hair to a desired length. This method can be used for several cuts, including a light trim, thick cut, or a fade cut.

Using scissors or clippers with a comb or using clippers with a clipper guard are two very different methods that ultimately aim to achieve the same effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to hair combs. More specifically, the present invention is a barber's comb that can be used as a typical hair comb as well as a tool to facilitate the blending or fading of hair to a specified cut length in conjunction with a motorized hair clipper.

The comb combines the basic features of a typical hair comb with standard teeth with those of a clipper comb guard which facilitates cut length by using a hook design in conjunction with a hand held hair clipper.

The inventive comb gives the stylist the ability to safely cut lengths of hair with precision and efficiency, but also the flexibility to instantly switch from guard to comb and back again when necessary. There is significant time savings using the inventive comb by not having to stop and remove the clipper guard from the clipper, or to pick up a comb to employ the “clipper over comb” technique on multiple occasions when cutting hair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the comb of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the inventive comb.

FIG. 3 illustrates the comb used with hair clippers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a barber's comb that can be used as a typical hair comb as well as a tool to facilitate the blending or fading of hair to a specified cut length in conjunction with a motorized hair clipper. The comb combines the basic features of a typical hair comb with standard teeth and those of a clipper comb guard.

As illustrated by FIG. 1, the comb 10 has two ends, a comb end 12 and clipper guard end 14. The comb end 12 and clipper end 14 are connected by hinge 16 which has a slight indentation 18 to facilitate gripping and twirling comb 10. Hinge 16 can be a more simple connecting section and indentation 18 is optional. Preferably comb end 12 and clipper end 14 have teeth pointing in opposite directions as shown in the figures but they could be pointing the same direction.

Comb end 12 has a plurality of teeth 22 attached to rib 24. FIG. 1 shows comb 10 having 41 teeth on comb end 12 but this number can range from as few as 5-10 to as many as 80-100. Preferably teeth 22 are all the same diameter and extend to the same distance away from the rib 24 to form a straight outer comb edge 26; however teeth 22 can have a variety of configurations. Some teeth 22 can be smaller diameter and/or spaced more closely together to form a fine-tooth comb region for example, while others form a region where the teeth are more widely spaced. In another embodiment, teeth 22 can be different lengths so as to form a rounded outer edge 26. Another way to form a rounded outer edge 26 would be to have a rounded rib 24 with teeth 22 all substantially the same length.

Preferably hinge 16 is generally triangular with a corner extending into the rib 24 of the comb end 12 and a corner extending into the rib 30 of the clipper guard end 14.

Clipper guard end 14 has a plurality of bent teeth 32 and a plurality of teeth 34. Teeth 34 are shown in FIG. 1 as substantially similar to teeth 22; however teeth 34 can have a variety of shapes and sizes. Teeth 34 can also be omitted so that clipper guard end 14 contains only bent teeth 32.

Bent teeth 32 have a shaft section 36 and a bent tip section 38, which includes a hook 40. Bent teeth 32 are shown more clearly in FIG. 2. Comb 10 has 17 bent teeth 34 as shown in FIG. 1, creating a bent teeth region 44 measuring about 1½ to 2½ inches, preferably about 2 inches wide.

Hooks 40 are bent at an angle of about 15-60 degrees, preferably 45 degrees.

Bent teeth 32 can vary in length according to the barber's preference and generally measure from about ½ to 2 inches in length and the bent portion measures about 1/32 to ¼ inches. The length of the bent portion is important for achieving a specified cut length within a certain limit.

The comb 10 is preferably made of a hard plastic but can be made of other materials such as bone, wood, and metal such as aluminum.

In use, the barber preferably uses the inventive comb in two ways: as a regular comb to comb the customer's hair (using the comb end 12) and then with hair clippers to cut the hair to a particular length, using the clipper guard end 14. The barber holds the comb 10 in one hand and holds the clippers 50 in the other hand. He then places the clippers 50 against the bent teeth 32 as shown in FIG. 3 so that the clipper blade 52 is under the hooks 40 and places the clipper/comb combination against the customer's head to cut the hair.

The inventive comb allows the barber to incorporate various guard sizes on the clipper, giving the barber flexibility with regard to cut length. The preferred sizes are 0 and 1, 1 and 2 although other sizes are possible.

The inventive comb and method of using it with clippers allows the barber to rest the clippers against the comb, without the clippers sliding off the comb—a problem often occurring with use of clippers with regular combs.

Modifications and variations of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the forgoing detailed description. All modifications and variations are intended to be encompassed by the following claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 

1. A barber's comb for use with a hair clipper having a blade comprising a standard comb region containing standard comb teeth and a clipper guard region containing teeth having hooked ends, wherein the hooked ends on the clipper guard region will retain the blade of a hair clipper placed against the teeth of the clipper guard region.
 2. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the standard comb region and the clipper guard region are connected by a hinge.
 3. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the hinge has an indentation.
 4. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the teeth in the standard comb region and the teeth in the clipper guard region point in opposite directions.
 5. The barber's comb of claim 1, further having a second standard comb region adjacent to the clipper guard region.
 6. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the clipper guard region is about 1½ to 2½ inches wide.
 7. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the hooked ends of the clipper guard region teeth are bent at an angle of about 15 to 60 degrees.
 8. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the clipper guard region teeth are about ½ to 2 inches in length.
 9. The barber's comb of claim 1, wherein the bent portion of the clipper guard region teeth are about 1/32 to ¼ inches in length. 